The largest single outbreak of avian influenza (bird flu) across the UK, has been confirmed on an egg unit in Shropshire, with over 1m layers to be culled on a site owned by egg packing company, Griffiths Family Farms.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 was confirmed at the premises near Wem, North Shropshire on 20 January.

A further case of HPAI H5N1 was confirmed in a commercial poultry unit near Easingwold, Hambleton, North Yorkshire on Tuesday. A 3km protection zone and 10km surveillance zone have been declared around both outbreaks.

The first case of HPAI H5N1 within the current outbreak in England was on 17 November 2024. Since then, there have been 20 cases in total across the country, along with 1 in Scotland.

In NI, there have been no confirmed cases in commercial poultry. However, last Saturday, Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir introduced an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ), following confirmation of HPAI H5N1 in a sample collected from a wild goose found near Black Lough, Dungannon.

It is the first wild bird positive in NI since September 2023.

The AIPZ places a legal requirement on all bird keepers in NI to follow strict biosecurity measures.

“There is currently no requirement for poultry to be housed and bird gatherings are not prohibited at this stage, but this will be kept under constant review,” confirmed DAERA chief vet, Brian Dooher.